NBA East: Pistons deliver on Rasheed Wallace's promise
Last Updated: Sunday, May 15, 2005 | 7:57 PM ET
CBC Sports
Chauncey Billups poured in 29 points and Wallace contributed 17 points and 12 rebounds, as the Detroit Pistons evened their Eastern Conference semifinal against Indiana at two games apiece with an 89-76 road victory over the Pacers on Sunday.
Richard Hamilton scored 13 points and dished out seven assists for the Pistons, while Antonio McDyess chipped in with 12 points.
The win comes on the heels of the defending world champion Pistons losing Game 2 and 3 to go down 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. After the Pistons lost 79-74 in Indiana on Friday, Wallace guaranteed a Detroit victory in Game 4.
Detroit's Rasheed Wallace, left, and Chauncey Billups celebrate their victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 4 on Sunday. Billups scored a game-high 29 points and Wallace scored 17 points and had 12 rebounds in the Pistons' 89-76 win. (AP John Harrell)
Game 5 is in Detroit on Tuesday.
"It was answering the bell. We couldn't afford to go down 3-1 to this team," said Wallace.
"I couldn't get a shot to save my life the last game," he said. "Coming into tonight, I don't think there was no pressure on us. We just had to go out and play and execute."
"This has turned into a great series. But the pressure is always going to be on us; we're the (defending) champs," Billups said.
Stephen Jackson had the hot hand for Indiana with 23 points. Jamaal Tinsley contributed 17 points and Jermaine O'Neal collected 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Reggie Miller, the hero of Game 3 when his late jumper secured the win for the Pacers, was held to seven points on 2-for-6 shooting. He went 0-for-4 from three-point range.
"It's pretty obvious after you play a team a number of times, you find out what works," Detroit coach Larry Brown said. "As the series has gone on, we've tried to be more committed to a pick-and-roll defence, changing up a bit. The big factor was they didn't get out on the break much.
"And when our defence is set, that's when you're going to get turnovers and be a little more difficult to score against," Brown said.
Detroit came out on fire, using a 19-1 run in the first quarter to put the Pacers on the back foot. Indiana's only point in the run came from Jamaal Tinsley free throw.
The Pistons continued to pour it on as the Pacers shot an anaemic 1-for-19 from the field over a 13-minute period spanning the first two quarters. Detroit led 47-34 at halftime.
The Pacers came alive briefly in the third quarter, and threatened a comeback when they pulled to 56-50 with five minutes left in the third. However, once again Indiana turned stone cold, and the Pistons put together a 16-2 run to take a commanding 72-52 lead.
The closest the Pacers came to closing the gap was 12 points, as the Pistons held on comfortably for the victory.
"It was a tough little stretch when they got back in the game. We knew they would make a run," Billups said. "But I wanted to combat that by being extra aggressive. I kind of took it on myself, and they followed me."
The winner of this series will meet the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference final. The Heat won 99-95 on Saturday to sweep the Washington Wizards in the other eastern semifinal.
with files from Associated Press
